


since we've no place to go

by dinosaur



Series: 10 Days of Ficletmas [8]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fire, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 09:19:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2845895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaur/pseuds/dinosaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There was a small fire up on fourth." The voice comes from right beside him and Louis whirls on reflex, lashing out with his hand.</p><p>"BAM." He shouts as he makes very light contact.</p><p>The guy, in no less than four layers of plaid and jean jackets, stares at him like he's not sure Louis isn't a hallucination. Louis taps the side of his nose knowingly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	since we've no place to go

**Author's Note:**

> amalgamated from [tumblr](http://imlikenah.tumblr.com/tagged/10dof). on a fateful day in early december i had an Intense Reaction to [this au post](http://imlikenah.tumblr.com/post/104209923365/captainasexual-fun-holiday-aus-for-you-to). and my inevitable downfall into the 10 Days of Ficletmas was decided.
> 
> so, on the eighth day of christmas, i gave to you,  
> lilo: you left your christmas tree lights on over night and set the apartment building on fire. hey i live on the floor below you au
> 
> title from let it snow

Louis gets home from the pub at about 2:15 am.

Which, normally, is the perfect time to admire the sanctity of the 2 am on a Tuesday. Everyone is asleep and the stars actually feel as bright as Niall claims they always are. Everything still smells a little smokey and crisp.

Tonight, everything smells a lot smokey and there are people lazing around every which fucking way. And there's a ginormous fire engine milling with firefighters in full gear around all the people and the truck and the smoke.

"What the fuck."

"There was a small fire up on fourth." The voice comes from right beside him and Louis whirls on reflex, lashing out with his hand.

"BAM." He shouts as he makes very light contact.

The guy, in no less than four layers of plaid and jean jackets, stares at him like he's not sure Louis isn't a hallucination. Louis taps the side of his nose knowingly.

"Did you just -" The guy says, halting like he's still not sure of reality. Which would be funny, cause he's the guy who's supposedly telling people about a fire in their own apartment complex.

Wait. "Wait," Louis wheels back towards the complex "On fourth? Are you fucking joking?" He glares back at Plaid when he takes longer than a second to respond.

"Yes - yeah? But it's -" too late, Louis already moving as fast as his drunken, wobbly, nonbooted feet will go across the ground.

Which apparently isn't very fast at all because Plaid catches up to him fast. Maybe he's not human. Seems reasonable.

"You're not human." Louis says to him, because he's reassuring like that. Always good to let someone know you're on the same page as them.

"I - what? No. What?" Plaid is blinking really fast and furrowing his brows intensely. Harry does the same thing: further non-human evidence. "Are you alright, mate?"

Louis shoves down the reflex to shout obscenities in return. He can be cordial.

"Yeah, mate, just fucking probably lost every belonging I own in the world including my fucking mint condition Marvel collection and my 12 fucking boxes of Weetabix and my fucking Football That Once Touched The Becks' Hands, but it's like whatever no fucking big."

See, cordial.

"Oh." Plaid says.

"Story of." Louis says, distracted as he tries to find who the fuck is in charge. Fire chiefs wear helmets right. Maybe it would be easier to just sneak in.

"Story of wh - Listen, mate. It's cool. Like - They said there was only a very tiny bit of damage like only the floor and a lot of tinsel. Someone in 4C got a little carried away with their tree. Lotsa smoke, no burning - I'm sure," Plaid slows down to a halt as Louis does, turning to look at him with bug bulbous annoying sincere eyes. "Everything's fine."

Louis can feel himself flushing, and then flushing angrily on top of that because he's fucking flushing in the first place. He's not Niall, what is this.

"Are you having me on, because I swear to god -" Louis says, voice rising to threat pitch.

"No! No, man I wouldn't, like. They told me?" Plaid throws a thumb back towards the firefighters, who are, arguably just sitting around doing shit for nothing. Maybe the non-human speaks the truth.

"Right well, I suppose that's fine. As long as your source information has been validated with an annoying red spinning light and matching walking calendar spread." Louis says, mind racing. There's no good way to get out of this.

Plaid looks really confused. It's a really good look on him. How annoying.

"I'm a teacher's aid." Louis says, sighing. "Reflex."

"Oh. Cool, man." he says, polite to the core, apparently.

"Not really, no." Louis says, also polite.

Plaid actually giggles. Louis stares a bit. He didn't know anyone but Niall actually did that in real life. His eyes have incredible crinkles. Louis thinks rude things at them.

"Did they say they were gonna wait until 4C turned up?" Louis asks, to derail himself.

"Yeah, but they're gonna let everyone else go back in in a bit anyway." Plaid smiles and and it makes his cheeks look biteable and pinchable. The smoke is probably making Louis lightheaded. That's why he wants to latch on.

"Right, cool." Louis says. "We should leave."

"What?" Plaid actually takes a step back.

Louis throws a hand, perfectly casual. "They'll wait for us."

Plaid frowns and says "Uhm, no they - wait."

Louis stares determined at a line of icicles on a Fiat beside them. They add a nice accent color to the red.

"Are you, 4C?" Plaid says, voice shaking on the edges of full out laughter.

Louis raises his eyes to the heavens and asks for salvation. Out loud, he says "No. Don't be ridiculous. I know how much tinsel to use on trees, obviously."

Louis sniffs pointedly.

Plaid laughs and Louis can't sneaking a look. He laughs like a little kid, all big hiccupy bubbles and stampy movements. It's not even a big laugh, but it feels large - like the happier he gets, the more space he takes up.

Louis taps his fingers on his trousers, doesn't even bother arguing with himself as he reaches out a hand. He believes in proper hellos for proper friends. And, he thinks watching Plaid take his hand gently, palm soft and warm, proper more than friends.

"Louis. 4C. Did you know you're wearing four layers?" Louis rubs his finger along the vein in Plaid's wrist and smugly watches his eyes go dark and his hand tighten.

"Liam. 3C." _Liam_ says, and scratches his fingernail sharp along the edge of wrist bone. Louis feels it like an electric line traveling down, down his body. "Did you want some of them?"

Louis grins, feels his incisors biting sharp against his own lips.

"Are you offering, love?" Louis says, licking his lips shamefully just to watch the way Liam follows it with his eyes, the way his fingernails dig into Louis' hand.

"Yes."

Louis cackles. What a lovely night.


End file.
